Notebook: Navy loss provided lessons

The game was nearly two calendar years ago, but it’s worth revisiting for Brian Mitchell.

It marked a turning point in the East Carolina defensive coordinator’s career.

David Hall / Staff Writer

GREENVILLE — The game was nearly two calendar years ago, but it’s worth revisiting for Brian Mitchell.

It marked a turning point in the East Carolina defensive coordinator’s career.

Mitchell spent the entire night of Nov. 6, 2010, reviewing game film in his office and wondering what he could’ve done differently in the Pirates’ record-breaking 76-35 home loss to Navy that afternoon.

As the Midshipmen visit ECU (5-3) again Saturday, Mitchell looks back on the 2010 game as a defining experience.

“This game made me a better coach,” he said. “This game showed me that you can never leave any stones unturned. Always expect the unexpected. Sometimes you get in this business and you kind of overlook some of the little things, and I’ll never neglect that again.”

Navy, which has won three straight to improve to 4-3, famously features a triple-option offense that routinely forces defensive coaches to step outside their comfort zones.

In the offseason following 2010, Mitchell and his ECU colleagues decided to switch from a 4-3 defense to a more mobile 3-4 front, a move partially driven by the Navy loss.

The results were measurable: In 2011, the Pirates held Navy to 284 rushing yards — a year after allowing a Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium-record 521 to the Midshipmen — in a 38-35 win in Annapolis, Md.

ECU went from finishing 120th in the nation — dead last — in total defense two years ago to finishing 56th last season.

Despite the improvement, that 2010 game continues to stick in the Pirates’ collective craw.

“I still haven’t gotten over that,” junior safety Damon Magazu said. “I haven’t gotten over the time I got beat pretty bad in high school, either.”

Mitchell’s resulting plan for Navy included adapting the 3-4 approaches of Air Force and Army and working against the option for four days in the spring, four days during fall camp and every Sunday during the season.

Sprinkling the game plan satisfied Mitchell’s biggest regret from two years ago while serving as a symbol of wisdom born of an educational blowout.

“It made me decide: Hey, you want to be a good coach?” the former NFL defensive back said. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s spread, option or whatever you’re defending; you’ve got to find answers. You’ve got to have answers and solutions.”

The question

What is the single-game school record for the lowest rushing total to which the Pirates have held an opponent?

Wholly conditioned

What do God and Jeff Connors have in common?

Besides putting the fear of themselves into people, they’re the beings ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill credits with his team’s unusual level of continuity this season.

Outside of the running back position, where the Pirates employ a diverse stable, no more than two players have started at any position for the offensive unit. Four players — left tackle Adhem Elsawi, left guard Jordan Davis, right guard Will Simmons and right tackle Robert Jones — have started all eight games.

The picture is similar on defense, where four positions have seen starts by one player and another three positions by two.

McNeill said Connors, the team’s second-year strength and conditioning coach, has improved the players’ health through offseason conditioning. The rest, McNeill said, is handled through team minister Chuck Young.

“Luck is a big part of it, making sure you stay injury-free — knock on wood,” McNeill said. “We pray about injuries every day with Chuck.”

On this date

The Pirates won their sixth game in an 11-game winning streak with a 24-23 home victory over Pittsburgh on Oct. 26, 1991.

Back in the mix

McNeill said he expects to have running back Reggie Bullock back on the field this week.

A senior who has appeared in five games and started two, Bullock has been out since suffering a concussion while returning the opening kickoff against Texas-El Paso on Sept. 29.

His 3-yard run against Navy with 2:14 remaining proved the game-winner last season.

Bullock is listed as questionable this week, but McNeill is holding him to a higher standard.

“He’s been sitting out for about three weeks,” McNeill said. I told him, ‘You should be running 4.2 — fastest guy in the country right now.’ ”

The answer

The Pirates held Davidson to minus-12 rushing yards in a 45-0 victory on Oct. 6, 1973.

Unsung heroes

McNeill said ECU’s MVP in practice this week has been reserve defensive back Rocco Scarfone, who has switched sides to play the role of Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds on the scout team.

Scarfone, a redshirt freshman from Greensboro who has played in all eight games, has used his speed to replicate the triple option with help from redshirt freshman defensive end Jeton Beavers.

“Those two guys doing that, I get goose bumps because they want to do it for the team,” McNeill said.

“Rocco has stressed the defense more than you can imagine. That’s what we need to see.”